Posted by
Zentrist on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 6:31:04 PM
President Obama's first name, Barack, we are told, means "blessed." Our Holy Father, fresh from his trip and mission to Africa, seems to have our President at least unconsciously on his mind in a recent homily. I'm referring to the Holy Thursday, 9 April 2009 sermon. The reader can decide for himself or herself--if there are any readers.
Pope Benedict, an avid student of philosophy almost as much as theology, shares his knowledge and enthusiasm for words. Words matter. Without giving a long-winded preface, let me just quote directly from the homily:
Please be patient.
Here is the quotation: "As she prays at this central moment, the Church is fully in tune with the event that took place in the Upper Room, when Jesus' action is described in the words, "gratias agens benedixit--he gave you thanks and praise". In this expression, the Roman liturgy has made two words out of the one Hebrew word 'berakha,' which is rendered in the Greek with the two terms 'eucharistia' and 'eulogia.' "
Again, fresh from his trip to Africa, the Holy Father may, I repeat, MAY, have our much-beloved, world-historic leader on his mind or in the back of his mind. The reason I speculate thus is because our pope is intensely in tune with the various possible meanings of words--in terms of suggestions, hints, plays-on-words (following all great poetry). To put it better, Benedict reads very carefully in the original languages. He is intimately familiar with Latin, Greek, Italian, French, English, Spanish, German...and possibly Hebrew as well. Those who know him best say that our Holy Father has a "poetic imagination." That is, he not only reads carefully in the original language, but brings to that reading a profound sense of metaphor. Metaphor is all about the extraordinary power of suggestion. "Love is a rose." Such talk is a powerful suggestion to our affects, our intellect, our own poetic and historical imaginations. Not to mention our own will-to-interpret with poetic and even political sensibilities. Anyhow, let's see what else was on our Holy Father's mind on Holy Thursday, the day on which we commemorate the institution of Holy Communion: "The Lord gives thanks. When we thank, we acknowledge that a certain thing is a gift that comes from another. The Lord gives thanks, and in doing so gives back to God the bread, "fruit of the earth and work of human hands", so as to receive it anew from him."
Now comes the good part. Now comes the connection to the root meaning of Barack's name: "Thanksgiving becomes blessing." Again, Barack's name, the root meaning of "Barack," we are told by etymologists, is "blessing." I don't know. But isn't this interesting? One thing I do know: Our Holy Father is an authentic holy person. If I'm right about that, the fact has implications for his powers of intellect, intuition, interpretation, poetic and spiritual imagination. The infusion of the Holy Spirit at that level--truly enlightens a human being. He or she is operating at a different level. Just read, for example, The Story of a Soul, by Saint Therese of Lisieux, a spiritual masterpiece written by a bona fide Doctor of the Church when she was dying--in her early twenties!
For that matter, read the recent homilies of our Holy Father! Read the Easter Vigil homily, with its poetry of the "gravitational pull" of love over against the forces of hatred.
Where on earth did that metaphor come from? From quantum physics, which itself derives in part from Newton's classical physics. In this homily the Bishop of Rome also speaks very deeply of the powers of cosmos, sanctified by the Incarnation, over against the divisions of chaos--an allusion to the Creation Story of Genesis. The Easter Vigil Liturgy is all about the words of God as we have them in English from the Bible: LET THERE BE LIGHT.
Finally, I want to just round out the passage I'm quoting, at present, from the Holy Thursday homily--and Benedict's homilies always reflect beautifully upon the liturgy of the day.
He is meditating upon the Institution of the Eucharist which occurred in the Upper Room at the Last Supper: "The Lord gives thanks, and in so doing gives back to God the bread, "fruit of the earth and work of human hands", so as to receive it anew from him. THANKSGIVING BECOMES BLESSING. (my emphasis.) The offering that we have placed in God's hands returns from him blessed and transformed. The Roman liturgy rightly interprets, therefore, our praying at this sacred moment by means of the words: 'through him, we ask you to accept and bless these gifts we offer you in sacrifice'. All this lies hidden within the word 'eucharistia'."
Now, Christopher Hitchens, if you happen to be reading this, please do not jump to conclusions. I am not suggesting that Barack is the real Second Coming! Not that you would care, one way or another! All I am suggesting--and isn't it interesting?--is that the Hebrew word, 'berakha,' sounds a lot like the word, Barack!
President Obama: You can take it from there. Our Holy Father may, I repeat, MAY, be suggesting, that, as you go about doing good and searching for a new Christian home, you might do well to consider RCIA, the acronym used at parishes for the process of learning about becoming a Roman Catholic.
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p.s. I'd like to compliment Governor Bill Richardson for his work in making illegal the death penalty in the great neighboring state, the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico. I note that the Holy Father allowed this non-pro-life governor...or am I wrong?...to be photographed with him. Nancy Pelosi apparently was not allowed to be photographed with the Holy Father, even though she must have wanted it badly. I trust that the Pope will indeed be meeting with Obama and that he will consent to be photographed with a man who is, at best, conflicted about the morality of abortion. President Obama has said that he wants to create conditions in society in which abortions will become increasingly "rare." Let us all pray--all who feel sincerely called--let us pray for the making rare of abortion. More, let us pray for the cleansing of the sin of abortion and all related sins, including all types of illicit sex. Let us pray especially for the zombie souls who indulge in porn.
Yesterday, President Obama referred to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. He then invited the students and staff and the entire "ecumene" to reflect on the parable of the House, one built on sand and the other on Rock. He thereby argued strongly, and we hope soundly, that his five-point plan for recovery is built "upon the Rock." He used this expression, "built upon a Rock," repeatedly.
It was almost as if someone had brought to the President's attention the remarkable Holy Thursday sermon of Pope Benedict. That very same homily in which our Holy Father seemed to suggest that, in our time especially, as we reflect with each other and with the Communion of Saints upon THE TIMES AND THE SEASONS...something is "in the air" vis-a-vis our President Barack Hussein Obama and the inhabited earth that is continuing to learn about the things in the world we have to be grateful for. Barack and Berakha...The Blessings and the Holy Communion, the UNITY WE ALL SEEK.